Chris' Snake Page

Vipers

The Viper family of snakes is perhaps the most advanced family of snakes. There is two subfamilies: the viperinae and the Crotalinae[ Pit Vipers ]. The Pit Vipers are more advanced do to heat sensative pits on the front of the head which allow the snake to zero in on it's prey even in the dark. The most famous Pit Vipers are probably the Rattle Snakes. These snakes have developed a rattle on the end of the tail which can ward off entruders, make humans aware of it's presence, and ensure no animal tramples it. A Rattle Snake however, does not have to rattle before it strikes. So be coutious the next time you are walking in a Palmeto Flatland in Florida ,or some tall grass in an old cattle feild. The Vipers are all poisonous and the venom ranges from a mild venom of the Dusky Pgmy Rattler to the powerful venom of an Eastern Diamondback. Antivenin is in wide distrobution in the U.S. and other countries and, with proper and speedy treatment the bite victim should be okay. The Vipers are masters of camo. and many Vipers are sit and wait predoters such as the Gaboon Viper and the Rhino Viper [ also known as the River Jack ]. Those two snakes are part of the three Giant Vipers of Africa [ the third being the Puffadder ]. Rattle Snakes are found only in North America. Vipers are also found in Europe, Australia, Africa, and Asia. As stated earlier the U.S. and other countries has a ready supply of antivenin ,but unfortunatly many countries in Africa and Asia don't have the advanced medicine we do and as such many people die from snake bite there. Vipers have very ornate skins which means this has been exploited for the skin trade. This means many species are having trouble surviving. Vipers are also seen as a danger and a nusince and as such has been killed and butchered. Hopefully I have tought you something about these remarkable animals and have made you think they are worth while to conserve.

Boids

Both Boas and Pythons are under the grouping Boids. Both families of snakes are made up of soley of constrictors. Boas are found soley in South and Central America [ eccept for the Rosy Boa of the United States and the Dumeril's Ground Boa of Madigascar ]. Popular or well known Boas include: the Anacondas [ green and yellow ], the Rainbow Boas, the Redtailed Boas, Rosy Boas, the Dumeril's Boa, and the Emerald Tree Boa. The sizes of these snakes ranges from the small sizes of the Rosy Boa and Calabar Ground Boa to the large and huge sizes of the Common Boa and the world's heaviest and second longest snake the legendary Green Anaconda. The record length of a Green A naconda is 26 ft. and about 3 in. which is about 8 meters! Unlike many others Boas the Anaconda is very illtempered and should only be kept in a very large semi-aquatic habitat by a very knowlagable and seasoned herpetologist [ a person who studies and works with reptiles and amphibians ]. The Emerald Tree Boa is another illtempered snake anb becouse it is arborial and feeds on birds and other high living creatures it teethare long so as to puncture and grasp feathers [ by the way the teeth of the Tree Boa are the closest thing to fangs I've ever seen on a non-venomous snake ,but it's no Gaboon Viper either ,still not a snake you want to take a hit from ]. This snake to is some thing only for one with expeiriance and in my opinion only for one with a long snake hook and a good pair of forceps for feeding. For a beginner I recomend some thing small with a good disposition such as: Common Red Tailed Boa, Rosy Boa, and Dumeril's Boa. Always! get a good healthy looking snake that is captive bred. Make sure the dealer has expieriance, is reputable, and all cages are maitained well+look good.
The Pythons are old world snake. They can be found in Africa, Australia, and Asia. The pythons are one of my all time favorites ,and there is a good variety of them. Here are some of the most well known and popular breeds: the Burmese Python, the longest snake in the world the Reticulated Python [ the record length is: about 27 ft. ], the Royal or Ball python, the Rock Python, the Black-headed Python, Green Tree Python [ not dissimilar to Emerald Tree Boa ], Children's Python, D'Albert's Python, the Spotted Python, the Diamond Python, the Carpet Python [ which the auther is hoping to obtain soon ], the Blood Python, and the Boeleens Python [ you can see this awesome snake at the Dreher Park Zoo if your anywhere near South Florida, one by the way is the that of the resident herpetologist's ]. Some of these teriffic animals get to be terrifically huge! With that in mind I recommend a small breed for a begginer such as a:Royal Python [ be sure to get a captive bred one I had a bad expierience with a wild cought one were it would not eat for almost a year! this is common among wild cought snakes becouse the stress of being taken from thier home will probably result in them not eating ], a Children's python is good becouse thier one if the smallest Pythons in the whole lot. A Blood Python could also work well for a beginner ,but remember it's a fat short tailed snake cage it according to weight and give it plenty of room to strech, just like any other snake.

About Me

My name is Chris Schiener and I am 13 years old. I live in South Florida, a great place to live in if you like reptiles. I first started reading and learning about snakes when I was in the third grade. I then got my first snake soon after. This snake was the unfortunate wild cought Royal [ also known as Ball ] Python. I loved the little bugger. A little while after that my father and I [ with the much appriciated help of the herpetologist of a semi-local zoo ] got our Peruvian Red Tailed Boa Constrictor. Soon after I was able to bring her in for a live feeding in front of my fourth grade class. I entertained many questions and was entertained by many snake stories. A little while after my interest in reptiles died out. Then in eighth grade my dad and I started to go to Gatorland. The trips rekindled my love for reptiles. I also became interested in other reptiles like Crocs and Gators. I also must thank Steve Irwin and his show the Crocodile Hunter for getting me interested in reptiles again. My dad also had a big hand in my rekindled hobby. Soon I will be teaching the young of my school about reptiles and wildlife conversation. The herpetologists at Gatorland have been re helpful and I hope to assist the herpetologist at the Dreher Park Zoo which is near were I live. If you have a question or a comment e-mail me at: Rommel007@AOL.com
Check out these great reptile sites, search engines, and dealerships.
www.rep-search.com
www.reptilemania.com
www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/crocs
www.bigappleherp.com
www.texasreptiles.com
www.herp.com
www.pitvipers.com
www.bushherp.com
Here is the address to my favorite sites page that has links to all my pages
http://hometown.aol.com/alligatorman86/myhomepage/favorites.html

My Favorite Reptile Herps

Great site with great info.
Good site good pictures+info.
A huge and informative site

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